Gridiron Champion And 21-Time Australian MVP: This Is Kristy Moran’s Story

Caitlyn Davey • April 2, 2025

A 21-time Australian MVP, International Player of the Year in 2017, a National League MVP, a former player for the first-team All-American, and is an ex-Chicago Force player – Kristy Moran is nowhere near stopping. Episode 49 of the Health and Fitness Podcast features Kristy Moran, and we discuss all things sports and how she’s become who she is today. Journey of getting into sportsBeing an army brat, Moran moved across Australia a fair bit, and being the shy kid that she was – credits her ease in settling into new schools among new people, to sports. Generally, people tend to accept you sooner, and open up to the idea of someone new entering their space when they notice a shared interest in something and little Kristy tool advantage of just that!“Sports is a great way to make friends when you’re a kid. It was one of the things that helped me establish myself every time I moved. So, at school, I did netball and little athletics.”While her mum wanted her to train to become a ballet dancer, her instructor, on the other hand, knew she was built for something else entirely. With this push, Moran now added gymnastics to the existing list of sports she’d been training for. Though at school in Canberra, she had picked netball as the sole sport she’d train for, eventually, she decided to drop it once she moved back to Brisbane.“When I came back to Brisbane, netball wasn’t really that big, not in my school at least. So, I went over to track and field. I found one event boring and so I started doing heptathlons; which are the seven events; high jump, long jump, javelin, shot put, 100 hurdles, 200 and 800.”Being involved in sports teaches lots of lessons, many of which have very little to do with sports itself. In the podcast, Kristy shares the things training for heptathlons taught her. “Heptathlon really instilled in me a work ethic that was beyond other people. I’d have to train for three events in an evening so I’d get there an hour before, do a field event, then everyone would come down and do their track work and I’d be there an hour after too – all this while I was in high school.”Her shift from heptathlon, which she did from the age of 14 to 18, to touch football came about when she was left for university, which she then went on to play for almost a decade. Fast forward to a couple of years, at the age of 32, Moran started playing Gridiron.“So, someone I knew was trying to come up with a gridiron team for women and told me ‘You should come to play gridiron ‘and I looked at her like she was insane and said that there is no way that I can play that game. She was badgering me, and I was saying ‘not, absolutely not'. Then I went to watch her play, to support her and that was absolutely amazing. What they were doing was just spectacular.”“I started off as the wide receiver, then went on to play running back. I didn’t know any of the rules, in the beginning, had whiplash for two weeks and was bruised all over but I still loved the game.”Moving to AmericaMoran played gridiron for five years in Australia, and among the first ones to lay the sports’ foundation, she along with her teammates had the privilege of experiencing a lot of firsts. “Immediately after us, a team in New South Wales was set, then Victoria, Western Australia, a league in Canberra too. We won our first national championship, and formed a Queensland team, and then went on to form an Australian team.”Now, what went from a small gridiron team in just Brisbane, took over and became national – requiring the best of the best in terms of training and coaches. Coaches were called from The States, where football was a massive sport, to train the women’s national team in Australia. This is also when Kristy would find her next big opportunity:“We had coaches from the US come in to train us and one of them asked if I wanted to play in his team in Chicago. It was a hard decision to make because I'd already established myself here as an emerging player in Queensland. It was a big step for me, I didn’t even know if I’d last the training and I even considered not telling anyone about this offer. I went there and I guess I just didn’t limit myself, gave it my best, and had a great season,” says Moran.Women in sportsHowever, just because America is known globally for football, and because the sport is so popular in the country itself, doesn’t take away from the fact that gender discrimination within the sport exists even today.“Sure, the sport and people’s football IQ is huge. But you'd be surprised considering how big football is over there, women’s football struggles to get enough airtime. The women over there have some of the same challenges we have here - they have better equipment, better staffing, but in terms of opportunities, it’s still a lot lower than men.Emotions of guilt, limiting oneself, and not feeling good enough are fairly common, especially among women. Those involved in sports are constantly made to feel as if they aren’t good enough or aren’t made for a certain level of sport; a perception that must be put to rest. Kristy says, “That sense of limiting - it happens more to females than males. I once had a coach ask me, in the most caring way possible; ‘Kristy what are you afraid of? Why do you train so hard?’ and I asked him why this had to stem from fear - I’m training hard because I want to be the best, he said, ‘well you are the best in the league' and I told him I was the best in the league, but we were going over to play for Australia.“Now that I’m older, I learned to not limit myself. Not like I haven’t lost confidence ever. When I went to America, I wasn’t sure, I didn’t know what would happen nor did I know if id set the bar too high. I tell my team that the reason I’m so tough on women in sports is because I see these women come in and limit themselves. They’ll say, ‘oh no I can’t do that', yeah you can give it a go. It's all about that push, even for myself. If I had settled being the best in Queensland, I wouldn’t make the Australian team, if I had settled with being the best in Australia, I wouldn’t go to America and wouldn’t have known that I could do it,” Moran adds.Jackie Joyner-Kersee, ex-American track and field once said:'The only person who can stop you from reaching your goals is you.'And this fits far too well with Kristy’s life story, and with everything she believes in. From being heavily involved in sports to working hard on herself to be the best at what she does, to then motivating others and pushing them to become the best version of themselves – Kristy showed resilience and passion like no other!

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Why Strength Training Might Be the Missing Piece in Your Health Routine

February 16, 2026
If you live in Wynnum or Capalaba, you’re not short of fitness options. There are 24-hour gyms. Bootcamps. HIIT studios. Yoga classes. Running clubs along the waterfront. But despite more access than ever, many people still feel stuck. Tired. Plateaued. Unsure whether what they’re doing is actually working. For many adults across Brisbane’s bayside suburbs, the missing piece isn’t more cardio or more intensity. It’s structured strength training. What Strength Training Actually Does (Beyond “Toning”) Strength training isn’t just about lifting heavy weights or looking muscular. It is one of the most well-supported interventions in exercise science for improving: • Lean muscle mass • Bone density • Insulin sensitivity • Resting metabolic rate • Functional capacity • Injury resilience When you lift weights progressively, your body adapts. Muscle fibres increase in size. Neural drive improves. Connective tissue strengthens. Bone responds to load. This isn’t aesthetic. It’s physiological. For adults in their 30s, 40s and 50s — especially busy professionals and parents — maintaining and building muscle becomes increasingly important. From around age 30 onwards, we gradually lose muscle mass if we don’t train against resistance. Strength training slows — and can even reverse — that decline. Why Many People Plateau in Traditional Gyms Joining a gym in Wynnum or Capalaba is easy. Progress is harder. Many people follow random workouts. They jump between machines. They try classes without a long-term plan. They train hard, but without structure. The body adapts quickly to repeated stimulus. If load, volume or intensity don’t increase over time, adaptation stalls. This principle is called progressive overload — and it is fundamental to strength development. Without it, workouts feel hard but don’t necessarily lead to measurable progress. That’s why tracking lifts, planning training blocks, and adjusting volume matter. Effort is important. Structure is essential. Strength vs “Burning Calories” A common goal across the Wynnum and Capalaba community is fat loss. Many people default to high-intensity cardio to “burn more calories”. While cardiovascular training improves heart health and work capacity, resistance training changes body composition in a different way. Muscle tissue is metabolically active. The more lean mass you maintain, the more energy your body requires at rest. Strength training also improves glucose regulation and insulin sensitivity, which influences how your body uses carbohydrates. In simple terms: Cardio burns calories during the session. Strength training improves how your body uses energy long term. The most effective approach often combines both — but strength should not be overlooked. The Importance of Coaching in Strength Training Not all training environments are equal. There is a difference between access to equipment and access to coaching. Research in motor learning consistently shows that technique improves faster and more safely when feedback is specific and timely. Good coaching reduces injury risk, improves force production and builds confidence under load. For beginners, this means learning correct movement patterns. For experienced lifters, this means refining efficiency and progressing safely. In both Wynnum and Capalaba, more people are moving away from “do it yourself” gym models and towards coached environments that prioritise progression and accountability. Because consistency — not intensity — predicts long-term success. Strength Training for Real Life The real benefit of strength training isn’t what happens in the gym. It’s what happens outside it. Carrying children. Lifting groceries. Walking the stairs without fatigue. Reducing back pain. Improving posture after long desk hours. Strength improves quality of life. For people living and working in Brisbane’s bayside suburbs — balancing work, school runs and community commitments — training needs to support life, not compete with it. Two to four well-programmed sessions per week is enough to create significant improvements in strength and body composition when done consistently. You do not need to train every day. You need to train intelligently. What To Look For in a Strength Training Gym in Wynnum or Capalaba If you’re considering starting strength training locally, look for: • Structured programming rather than random workouts • Progressive overload built into sessions • Coaches who adjust for injury, mobility and experience • A community that supports consistency • A clear pathway for beginners Strength training should feel challenging — but sustainable. It should build confidence, not intimidation. A Quiet Shift in Fitness Across Wynnum and Capalaba, there is a noticeable shift. People are moving away from extreme short-term “transformations” and towards long-term strength development. They want: Energy that lasts. Bodies that feel capable. Training that fits into real life. Strength training isn’t a trend. It is one of the most researched, effective and sustainable forms of exercise available. If you’ve tried everything else and still feel stuck, it might not be motivation you’re missing. It might be structure. And structure changes everything.

Join Rebuild Capalaba's Free Week Feb 2-8

January 19, 2026
If you’ve been thinking about getting back into training — or starting properly — this is your chance. From February 2–8 , you can train free for a full week at Rebuild Capalaba with unlimited access to our group sessions. No pressure. No judgement. No gimmicks. Just well-coached training, intelligent programming, and a community built around progress — not perfection. What Free Week Includes • Unlimited group training for 7 days • Coaching-led strength, conditioning, and cardio sessions • Scaled options to suit all experience levels • A supportive, ego-free training environment Whether you’re returning after a break, testing something new, or simply curious about what training should feel like — Free Week lets you experience it properly, without committing upfront. Free Week runs Feb 2–8. Spots are limited. Book your week and see how it fits into your life.

Join Rebuild Wynnum's Taster Day

November 24, 2025
Try a Session. Meet the Coaches. See What You’re Capable Of If you’ve been thinking about starting, restarting, or finding a gym that actually supports you — Taster Day is your opportunity. This is a free, one-day event designed for real people. No pressure. No expectations. Just great coaching, a welcoming community, and a chance to see whether Rebuild is the right fit for you. December 6, 7:30am at Rebuild Health and Fitness - 10 North Road Wynnum West. This session is FREE for people to join.
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